Metallic railway-track construction.



No. 664,020. Patented Dec. l8, I900.

' s. B. HARPER.

METALLIC RAILWAY TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

(Application filed Apr. 13, 1900,)

No Model.)

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UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE B. HARPER, OF MENOKEN, KANSAS.

IVI ETALLIC RAILWAY-TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 664,020, dated December 18, 1900.

Application filed April 13, 1900. Serial No. 12,783. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HARPER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Mencken, in the county of Shawnee and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Railway-Track Oonstruction,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-track construction, especially in connection with metallic ties, and aims to provide means for connecting the ties and rails so that the combined structure shall have the highest possible degree of rigidity and security.

My invention especially relates to metallic cross-ties and longitudinal metallic stringerplates placed above the ties and under the rails on each side the track, extending from tie to tie continuously; also, the transverse cap-plates above said stringer-plates secured to the ties upon each side of the rails by bolts or rivets passing through said stringer-plates, the inner ends of which cap plates bear against the flange and web of the rails to hold the same securely in place.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a section of railway-track provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through the same on the line of one of the ties. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a section of one of the rails, showing the ties, stringer-plate, and keepers in vertical section.

The ties 1 are formed in the ordinary manner, preferably of wrought-iron, with flat upper faces and a downward flange extending from each side edge. The stringer-plates 2 are of wroughtiron of suitable thickness and preferably about eighteen inches wide. Said plates lie upon the upper faces of the ties, extending from tie to tie longitudinally of the track, and are provided at their outer margins with downward-extending flanges 3, the object being to engage the earth and prevent lateral movement of the track on the road-bed and to further strengthen the said stringer-plates 2, which may be of any length preferred for convenient handling, preferably equal to thelength of the rails. Where the ends of the contiguous sections of said plates meet, they are lapped and united together by suitable rivets or bolts. Said plates are so located that the rails 4 when in place will extend along the center of each plate, and

upon each side of the seat for the rail, at distances equal to the distance between the ties, is provided a series of bolt or rivet holes, preferably three upon each side the rail, to receive bolts or rivets 5, which extend through said plates and ties. Said rivets also pass through corresponding holes in transverse keepers 6, which are located over said stringer-plates on each side of the rail, immediately above and in line with the ties 1: Said keepers 6, as shown in Fig. 3, are of substantially the same shape in cross-section as the ties, but are set reversely, their flat faces resting on the stringer-plates and their flanges extending upwardly. The outer ends of said keepers register substantially with the outer edges of the stringer-plates, and their inner ends are bent upward and bear against the flanges and web of the rails, holding the rails firmly in position. As stated, the rivets 5 pass through the ties 1, stringer-plates 3, and keepers 6, and the innermost rivets are made to bear closely against the flanges of the rail, so as to aid in preventinglateral movement of the rail.

Where sharp curves occur in a track, the stringer plates would naturally be made shorter than in straight sections of track and their meeting ends would be formed at the angle rendered necessary by the curvature of the track.

The devices described embody a construction of great rigidity, security, efficiency, and economy in practice.

Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent In railway-track construction, the combination, with the rails, of stringer-plates 2 running longitudinally beneath the rails, extending laterally at both sides of the rails and provided with flanges 3, the channeled metallic ties 1, having their ends secured to the under sides of said stringer-plates and abutting against the flanges thereof, and the channeled keepers 6 secured to said stringerplates and having their inner portions resting upon the bases of the rails and their ends abutting against the webs of the rails; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE B. HARPER.

Witnesses:

J. L. RocEEs, WM. BRADLEY. 

